Suspender-buckle



(No Model.)

J. A. TRAUT. SUSPENDER BUGKLE.

,543. Patented Feb. 17,1891.

Winesses:

amn'r rric JUSTUS A. TRAUT, OF NEW' BRITAIN, OONNECTICUT.

SUSPENDERNBUCKLE.

SEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 446,5413, dated ebruary 17; 1891..

Application filed September 20,1890. Serial No. 365,604. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JUsTUs A. TRAUT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of llartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckles forSuspenders, of which the following is a specification.

, This invention relates to buckles for suspenders and to'that class'of said buckles having cast-offs, the object being to provide a buckle of that class which shall be simple in construction, cheaply manufactured, and have effective looking` devices.

In the drawings accompanying and forming .a part of this specification, Figure lis afront view of a buckle embodying' my present improvements. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the complete buckle shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse seotional view through the middle of the buckle. Fig. 4: is a front view of the web-cases. Fig. 5 is a front view of the lever-plate and is illustrative of the mode of assembling the parts. Fig. 6 is a front view of the slide. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the slide on the line a a, Fig. 6. Fig'. 8 is a front view showing a modification of the web-case. Fig'. 9 is a front view of a lever-plate prepared for insertion in the modified webcase. Fig. 10 is a plan view of the lower end of the lever-plate shown in Fig. 5. Fig'. 11 is a plan view of the lever-plate blank.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures.

My improved buckle consists of a frame or web-case, a lever or lever-plate, and a slide. The frame or web-case C is of the nature of a short tube havingafrontplate 2, a backplatc el, and two ends 3 and 5, connecting said front and back plates. In the front plate of the frame is formed a slot 7, wherein is pivotally supported the lever-plate L, which is provided with suitable teeth 15 for engaging the web of the suspender (not herein shown) in a wellknown manner. The leVer-plate is shown in blank form in Fig. 11, and is bent on the lines ff, e e, and (Z d, a-s best shown at 9 in Figs. 2 and Said lever has notohes on either side thereof at 16 and 18, which engage with the front plate 2 at the ends of the slot 7, as will be understood by comparison of Figs. 1, 2, and 5. The inwardly-projecting end 12 of the lever-plate L should be, at least in part, malleable, and is extended sidewise to form the ears ll and 13, which eng'age the front plate 2 on the inner side thereof. As a means for assembling the frame or web-case and lever, said case has a lateral or branch slot or notch 10 at one end of the pivot-slot 7. The lever-plate is prepared for insertion in said pivot-slot by having the malleable ear 13 bent, as shown in Fig. 5, to a position corresponding' to said notch 10. This willbe understood by comparison of Figs. 4 and 5. The lever-plate being` thus prepared, it is taken inhand by the operator and the end 12 thereof inserted into said slot 7, when the ear 11 is slid under the top plate 2 at the left-hand end of the slot in Fig. 4. Next the bended ear 13 is slipped down through the notch 10 and afterward straightened to the position indicated bydotted lines at 13 in Fig's. 1 and 5, so that said the right-hand end of the pivot-slot 7, ,as shown by dotted lines at 13 in Fig'. .1. The

tion from. the pivot-slot 7 is wholly covshaped therefor,) as will` be understood from Fig. 1, thus giving a neat and symmetrical appearance to the buckle. This method of oonstructing and assembling the front plate and the lever-plate has important operational and economic advantages, since the working fit of these parts is determined by the Cutting-out punches and is not dependent on the accurate assembling' of a composite frame, as in many of the old kinds of bnckles.

may be extended upward from the pivot-slots 7, as indicated, for instance, at 10' in Fig'. 8; also, a similar branch slot may be provided at each end of said pivot-slot, as indicatedin said Fig. 8, where the second branch slot is designated by 10". lVhen this arrangement is used, however, the lever-plate is prepared for assembling` by bending' the ear 13, as shown in Fig. 9. lVhen two branch slots are used, as shown in Fig. 8, it is immaterial which of the ears 11 or 13 is bent, as described.

The leVer-plate, which is formed without the usual born is, for the purpose of attaching the slide thereto, slotted and bent, substantially as shown, so as to receive and hold the slide in a way that is at once rigid and secure. The lower end of the lever-plate is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to form the guard 19 ear 13 then lies behind the front plate at' ered by the lever-plate, (this being,` suitablyl bent backward, and it may be upward, asv

notch 10 being' formed in a downward direc- In some cases, however, the lateral notch 10 IOO . back of the slide.

In the front of 'the leverplate there are two slots 25 and 2G, having between them the guide-bar 27 and connecti'ng with the mortise or slot at 28, (see Figs. 3 and 10,) which is in the lower end of the lever-plate. This mortise (shown in inverted plan view in Fig. 10) is of a size suitable for receving the detachable slide B, and has projecting thereinto the catches 30 and for en-W gaging the slide or cast-off- The slide consists of the slide-plate 31,11aving a loop, as 32, or other means 'for attaching thereto the snspender-straps. Said slideplate has thereon the spring` which has a transverse cut, as 35, formed therein, the middle partof the spring-plate below said cut being swagedforward, as indicated in Figs. 6 and 7, to form the space or box 36, Fig. 7, for receiving the aforesaid guide-bar 27 of the lever-plate, as shown in Figs 2 and 3. The function of said guide-bar is to guide the slide to place, and then to hold in place the upper end thereof against any displacement laterally or toward the back of the buckle-plate. Then the slide is in place, the edges of the box 3G (which is formed, as desoribed, on the spring 34 of the slide) lie in the aforesaid slots 25 and 26, so that the edges of the plate at the sides of said slots constitute guides to prevent lateral 01' sidewise play of the slide in the lever-plate. The box part or "ease 36 of the said spring then lies forward of the guide-bar 27, as clearly shown i'n Figs. 1, 2, and 3, while. the side portions of said spring lie behind the lever-plate, as indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 1. W'hen the slide is slid into place through the aforesaid mortise 28, the lower oorners of the spring form hooks, which rest upon the catches 30 and 32 of the lever-plate, and thus lock the slide in place, as shown in Fig. 3. In using the cast-.off the user grasps the suspender and presses on the outer surface of the box 36 as on a bush-button, thereby closing the spring and disengaging the same from the aforesaid catches 30 and 32, when the slide may be readily withdrawn.

The improved'blank for a buckle-plate shown in Fig. 11 constitutes subject-matter for a separate application.

Ilaving thus described my invention, I claim-- 1. In a buckle, the combination, with the frame, of the lever-plate pivotally supported in the frame and having in the rearwardlyp bent lower end thereof a slide-receiving openthereof and bent on the line of said notches to form the inwardly-projecting end, said inwardly-projecting end being extended to form ears adapted for engaging under the frame at the ends of said slot, one of said ears being malleable and adapted to be bent, as set forth, for insertion through said notch, whereby the frame and lever may be assembIed.

In a buckle, the combination, with the frame having the continuous transverse pivot-slot an'd having' a notch substantially at -right angles thereto at one side of one end of said slot, of the lever having the notches 16 and 18 and the projecting ears 11 and 13 on the inwardly-projecting end of said lever, one of said ears being adapted to be bent for insertion through said notch and afterward straightened to its original and working position, whereby the lever may be placed in working position by the bending of only one of said ears.

4. In a buckle, the combination, with a buckle-plate bent backward at its lower end and having therein a slide receiving opening joining guideslots formed in the plate on either side of a guide-bar, of a guide-bar and a slide-plate having the middle part thereof forward of its side parts, whereby on slidin g said. slide-plate into place said middle part comes forward of the guide-bar, while said side parts pass back of the buckleplate, the slide-plate being guided to place by sliding in said slots, substantially as described.

5. In a buckle, the combination, with the buckle-plate havingthe slide-receiving opening and the catches, and having guide-slots extending upward from said opening, and having between them a guide-bar, of the twoleaved spring-slide having in one leaf thereof a transverse slot and below the slot shaped to form a box for engaging the guide-bar.

G. In a buckle, the combination, substantially as described, with the frame and with the two-leaved spring-slide, of the lever-plate pivotally connected to the frame and slotted, substantially as described, said plate being` bent, as set forth, on the lines e e and cl (Z, and having the guiding-edges, the slide-engaging catehes, and the upwardly-extending guard back of the slide.

7. In a bnckle, the combination, with the strap-carrying slide having the spring thereof slotted at 35 and the part below said slot thrown forward, as set forth, of the leverplate having the slide-receiving opening, the guide-slots formed in the plate above the opening, and the slide engaging catches at the lower end of the guide-slots, said spring part below said slot 35 constituting a pushbutton for dis'engaging the spring from the catches, substantially as deseribed.

J USTUS A. TRAUT.

Witnesses:

HENRY L. REOKARD, W. M. BYORKMAN.

ICO

IIO 

